How To Tell Someone's Age If You Only Know Their Name

[methodwriter85]

    This article tries to figure out, on average, how many living Americans have certain popular names, and what is the average age of the people with the name.

 

    I've always thought it's fascinating how names are often linked to time period trends- like Jennifer exploding in popularity during the 1970's because of the success of Love Story, or the curious surge of the names Leo and Jack once the girls who made Titanic a hit were starting families. And there are some names that are just so linked to their time period, like Doris and Betty instantly making you think of a young adult in the 1950's.

 

    Of course, as they count for, there are outliers. Heather was most popular in 1975, and it's not really a young girl name any more- it's steadily heading towards being the name of a woman in her late 30's to mid-40's- but I had a friend named Heather who's only 22. And I knew a guy named Mason in high school, who would be about 28 now. And my high school teacher remarked to this classmate named Susan how unusual that name was for a teenaged girl in the 21st century.

 

    My name is fairly close to being "right" for my age...it was most popular in 1976, which would suggest most Jeremy's were born in the 1970's, so I'm probably just a little bit younger than most guys named Jeremy. Meanwhile, I've met very few little kids with that name.

 

    Anyway, it's funny to think that someday, there will be bickering Jaydens, Aidens, and Caydens in nursing homes in place of the Bob's, Harry's, etc etc.

Edited June 19, 2014 by methodwriter85

[TetRefine]

Its funny. In my job working with kids primarily 10 and younger, I'd say about 90% of the boys have the names on the youngest by average list, and probably about 75% of the girls. 

 

Of course those are the white kids. The black kids I work with have a whole range of names that were totally foreign to me when I first started, and they rarely ever have the same name, especially the boys. White people tend to be more conservative in child naming, while blacks tend to be more creative. Although I have heard that the "innovative" naming style is going out of fashion, especially with middle and professional class blacks. 

Edited June 19, 2014 by TetRefine

[methodwriter85]

   I have 3-year old nieces named Sydney and Sofi.Sofi is going to be to their generation what "Ashley" and "Jessica" were to mine.

 

   The name "Heather" seems like its marching towards middle-age status...the youngest Heather I've known is 22, and it doesn't really seem like a name you hear for teenaged girls/college girls that much anymore. Most of them seem to be in their mid-30's at least. Brad also seems like an "once trendy name becoming middle-aged." I'd also say that for Bruce and Greg, which seems like names that were given mostly to guys born in the 1960's.

 

    Amy also seems like a name that you don't hear little kids getting named now.

 

   Of course, there old-standbys John, Joey, Matt, Chris, Mike, Sarah, and Kate will probably never go out of style. Everyone, no matter the age, has probably grown up with somebody who had at least one of those names.

 

    But the names that feel particular to my generation are Ashley (female, once a male name), Jessica, Brittany, Josh, and Justin.

Edited June 19, 2014 by methodwriter85

[B1ue]

Although I have heard that the "innovative" naming style is going out of fashion, especially with middle and professional class blacks. 

 

Yay!

 

An interesting chart. So it *isn't* my imagination that I run into Christophers everywhere. That name seems to have hit the center of its popularity right around the same time I was born.

 

...It's because The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was released about ten years prior, spawning a franchise and household name, isn't it?

[methodwriter85]

Yay!

 

An interesting chart. So it *isn't* my imagination that I run into Christophers everywhere. That name seems to have hit the center of its popularity right around the same time I was born.

 

...It's because The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was released about ten years prior, spawning a franchise and household name, isn't it?

 

 

    Blue, as a guy born in the 1980's, I think it's impossible to have NOT known a Chris, Mike, Dan, or Matt at some point. Josh as well.

 

     I have an outlier experience though- I met a LOT of Steve's in my life, but the median age for Steve is mid-40's.

Edited June 19, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Toast]

Sam is on the dead list.

 

Maybe that is because Sam has been around for so long.